Karonga Farmers Urged to Plant Early Maturing Crop Varieties
Stocker Nundwe, Crops Officer for Karonga District Agriculture Development Office, made the call Friday during an agriculture field day organized by SeedCo.
KARONGA, Malawi— Farmers in Karonga district have been advised to plant early maturing crop varieties to mitigate the impacts of weather unpredictability and flood disasters on their agriculture productivity, writes George Mponda, MANA.
Stocker Nundwe, Crops Officer for Karonga District Agriculture Development Office, made the call Friday during an agriculture field day organized by SeedCo.
"This aligns with the government's growing calls for farmers to practise climate smart agriculture, which includes planting early maturing crop varieties in our district which is hit with disasters annually," Nundwe said.
Nundwe said the Ministry of Agriculture wants farmers to achieve food security, good nutrition and financial security, which can be attained by using early maturing seed that can withstand drought and suit the climate conditions of their area.
James Mtiesa, Agronomy Manager for SeedCo Malawi, appealed to farmers to select appropriate crop varieties based on their agro-ecological regions to maximize yields.
"It all starts with the right seed and on display today we had maize, soya and rice which mature early. Some crops do not need much rain and I can assure farmers that they will still get a bountiful harvest even when grown on a small piece of land," Mtiesa said.
Some of the crops showcased were Kalulu maize seed which matures in not more than 80 days and Signal 110 soya seed which matures in 104 days. Mtiesa said farmers can harvest 50 bags and 28 bags per hectare of the maize and soya respectively.
"Nerica 4 rice seed matures in 100 days and can be grown everywhere since it does not need much water hauling in 32 bags from a hectare," he added.
Mtiesa stressed that by selecting appropriate early maturing varieties and diversifying crop choices, farmers can mitigate the risks associated with uncertain rainfall patterns and increase their chances of achieving a successful harvest.
Farmer Paliph Msukwa said adopting hybrid seed varieties which mature early and are drought tolerant can be a solution to the problems faced by farmers in Karonga and help increase yields, food and nutrition security.